Google searchers who use Google+ will start seeing content from the social network in their search results, Google announced yesterday. Users will now be able to see information shared with them on Google+ in their search results along with Google+ profiles and pages related to their areas of interest. Picasa photos will also be integrated into results.

"We're transforming Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships" says Google Fellow Amit Singhal in a blog post. The new move is described by the company as "Search, plus Your World."

Google tells you at the top of the page how many personal results have been generated for your query and you can choose to view these separately, to see them integrated into the general results, or to not see them at all. Personal results are distinguished by a specific icon and are marked as Public, Limited or Only you.

It will be possible to add users to your circles directly from the search results page, the blog post specified.

Suggestions for people or companies to follow on Google+ will exclude publicly accessible information about Facebook and Twitter accounts, the Associated Press reported. This strategy could increase concern about the objectivity of Google's search results, the AP continued, which is already a focal point of regulatory investigations in the US and Europe.

As the Guardian pointed out, it is illegal in the US for a company which is dominant in one field to use that dominance to gain a competitive advantage in another.

Twitter reacted angrily to the move in a statement, reproduced in the Guardian:

"As we've seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter, as a result, Twitter accounts and tweets are often the most relevant results. We're concerned that as a result of Google's changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that's bad for people, publishers, news organisations and Twitter users"

Twitter used to have an agreement with Google under which Google paid to access Twitter results and these then appeared in search results, but last summer Twitter chose not to renew the deal, according to Google.

As Neil Vidyarthi of Social Times pointed out, this increases the incentive for businesses to get on Google+. Traffic on Google+ seems to be growing, and many news organisations already have active pages, but it is still far from having the hundreds of millions of users that Facebook has. Will this move help Google's social network to grow sufficiently to be a real competitor?

Source: Google blog, AP, Guardian, Social Times